Here in So Cal you see Catalina's at Catalina Island all the time, depending on which harbor you leave from it could be 21 to 30 miles. I came across one offshore about 20 miles off the backside of Catalina Island. Sturdy boat if rigged for the harsh environment of offshore work. I wouldn't cross an ocean 1000+ miles but under a hundred is ok by me.

Locking down the cockpit hatches, and putting the boards in the companionway, using a new Honda 9.9 HP long shaft and a nice big new plastic fuel tank ( 20 gallons) , GPS, proper safety gear, maintaining the keel , sailing conservatively , checking the weather - all will tilt the odds in your favor for coastal hopping in good conditions.

Even so, I would only go in good conditions with lots of planning and ways to call for help.

Goodness, people of rowed boats across the Atlantic. Using anecdotal examples of what people have done is of little importance to me. Would I? No. Would you? Maybe. It's a personal decision. The boat was not designed for that job.

Hopping down the coast, a mile or two (or even less) offshore is one thing. Going out an inlet and just sailing around is another. And then, there's going out of sight of land to a different landfall.

Weather permitting, I'd do the first two, but would have no desire to do the third. But, even with good weather for the first two, you've got a small boat, with a small motor that would mean you have to time going out and coming back in, to catch the tide right.

Even so, I would only go in good conditions with lots of planning and ways to call for help.

Pretty amazing, when you think about it, that we've reached the point of the mindset being so commonplace, that having the means to call for help might actually make all the difference whether to go, or not...

Blondie Hasler would be be turning over in his grave... :-)

Seems an interesting question, I wonder how many among us might give up sailing, or stop venturing out of sight of land on small boats, if all means of summoning assistance were somehow suddenly denied to us?

Seems to me that anyone who would not consider hiking up to Tuckerman's Ravine in winter without a cell phone or PLB, probably shouldn't be doing so with one, either... :-)

......I wonder how many among us might give up sailing, or stop venturing out of sight of land on small boats, if all means of summoning assistance were somehow suddenly denied to us?

That's a really good question. To some degree, I think it would mute most of us to some degree. I certainly wouldn't stop sailing, nor cruising. However, if every coastal passage had to be the same prep as an offshore passage, it would naturally limit the ability to go.

For example, I have a good coastal liferaft and ditchbag that are really only good for a day in the raft, while the epirb does its job. If I had to potentially survive for many days, until someone randomly stumbled upon us or we figured out how to make landfall ourselves, that would require offshore prep for even a coastal hop. It would change the game.

I do get the point that some don't make the proper preparations even for a coastal hop and expect the Easy Button to bail them out. That's not proper seamanship.

Seems an interesting question, I wonder how many among us might give up sailing, or stop venturing out of sight of land on small boats, if all means of summoning assistance were somehow suddenly denied to us?

I am old enough to have spent many days on the water ( & doing things that were far more dangerous ) before cell phones, so I feel I can actually answer this; I think it would make very few people give up any adventure type sport. We might act slightly differently without celll phone communications, we might bring a few extra tools, practice swimming :-) ......do a little bit more maintenance perhaps. But ultimately it would stop very few. In fact an argument could be made just the opposite - that more people are distracted by their smart phones and so there are less people who can muster the time and attention for sailing. Sure, a few people use the I phone to film their adventures, but many times more just stare into the things while walking like a zombie through a mall.

Now you can't really mean "all means of summoning assistance". Not sure what that really means - does that include flares and distress flags?

Any man brave or foolish enough to sail a 22' boat offshore probably wouldn't be stopped by lack of communications. After all, sailboats are extremely reliable vehicles if used within their limits.

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